Thursday, November 4, 2010

right under our noses

Meetings take place on the second Tuesday of every month from September through May at Seattle Pacific University, Demaray Hall, Room 150. Registration at 6:45 p.m., program at 7:00 p.m.

Visitors are more than welcome to attend our meetings, as well. The cost at the door is just $8 for full or associate SCBWI International members (bring your membership card with you for entry) or $10 for non-members.

November 9, 2010

Mini-Session: EVERYTHING I EVER NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT PICTURE BOOKS I LEARNED IN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL with Jennifer Mann. Jennifer received her formal visual education while earning a master’s degree in architecture. For her, the best part of architecture school was all the drawing (and visual storytelling). Who knew the skills she gained in architecture school would translate to writing and illustrating picture books? In this mini-session, Jennifer will share tools that have helped her better understand the visual and textual structure of picture books. She’ll show (and tell) how, by mapping the composition of each page of a published picture book and viewing it in context, we can see just how the images support and amplify the pacing and impact of each beat in the story arc. This analytical tool can help illustrators and writers alike as they approach their own picture-book work.

Main Program: SPEAKING IN TONGUES: ZADIE SMITH AND OTHER WRITERS ON POINT OF VIEW with Kathleen Alcalá. Choosing the right point of view is crucial to the success of any book. Tangled with that is the voice that the writer will use from that point of view. Author Zadie Smith has meditated on this at length, and we will look at her collection of nonfiction essays, CHANGING MY MIND, along with some classic children’s or young-adult books that have set the standard for point of view. (You may want to read Zadie’s essays before this session.) Kathleen is the author of several acclaimed adult books and is a faculty member for the Whidbey Island Writers Association MFA program.